Just released on Blu-Ray and DVD

Reviewed by Amy Biancolli, Peter Hartlaub and Mick LaSalle

Just released

Published 11:19 am, Thursday, February 21, 2013

Anna Karenina

Joe Wright's misguided and miscast version of the Tolstoy classic uses a host of distancing devices - namely doing the movie as though it took place on a stage - but the effect is to render something cold that should have been warm. It provides a difficult frame for Keira Knightley in the title role, who is the wrong age and temperament to begin with. The result is a beautiful disaster. Rated R. 129 minutes. - M. LaSalle

Argo

That Ben Affleck can direct a film this smart, this gripping, is no surprise any longer, but still - his account of a rescue effort during the Iran hostage crisis is as precise as it is suspenseful. Affleck plays the CIA operative who aims to fly out six Americans posing as a film crew for a fake movie. Rated R. 120 minutes. - A. Biancolli

Hipsters

This is the first Russian musical in over 50 years, but really they could have waited a few more decades before making this long, long film about a group of American wannabes in 1950s Russia, wearing pompadours and dancing to rock 'n' roll. Yet it's not without its moments. Not rated. 115 minutes. - M. LaSalle

Sinister

Scott Derrickson co-wrote and directed this smart thriller about a crime book writer who moves into a house where four murders took place and becomes tormented by strange occurrences in the middle of the night. Well-acted by the appealing Ethan Hawke - though beware: the last two or three minutes are a disappointment. Rated R. 109 minutes. - M. LaSalle

Undefeated

In this Oscar-winning documentary, a Memphis football team that hasn't won a playoff game in 110 years tries to make history. The cliches are plentiful, but the narratives are still compelling. It's a credit to directors Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin that the personal stories of the kids and coaches resonate more than the wins and losses. Rated PG-13. 113 minutes. - P. Hartlaub

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